News Blog

Why does COVID-19 cause some patients to lose their sense of smell and taste? What are the psychiatric and neurological complications now associated with COVID-19 infections—and can these issues be prevented?

Rituals like funerals, shivas and memorial celebrations can often help ease the pain associated with the death of a loved one and allow those left behind to begin healing. But due to social distancing requirements to stem the spread of the virus, the pandemic has forced many people to change the way they say goodbye, complicating the grieving process, though making it no less important.

Whether or not people are actually avoiding going to the doctor when they’re sick — or to the hospital if they’re having a true emergency — is still a matter of some debate. But while no study has shown it definitively, there are two trends that are cause for concern.

While interpersonal challenges and difficult personalities at work have always been part of the professional picture, the changing dynamics of how we work, and our reactions have added additional complexity.

While Chester County Hospital’s leadership organized its COVID-19 response strategy, Sowti, was in frequent contact with his counterparts at PMC offering whatever support they needed to meet the high volume of COVID-19 patients they were seeing.

Telemedicine has played a critical role in care as health systems around the country hit the pause button on many outpatient and inpatient services due to the virus. Penn’s division of Gyn/Onc conducted a large swath of visits via telemedicine for follow-up counseling sessions to discuss imaging, for example, or next steps that didn’t require an exam.

To ensure vulnerable individuals have access to the resources they need — now and after COVID-19 abates — students at the Perelman School of Medicine have been using their time away from the classroom and clinic to develop innovative solutions for community issues.

In a word, Nicole O’Donnell is personable. As a recovery specialist for Penn Medicine’s Center for Opioid Recovery and Engagement, she is, in many ways, the face of the program.